character · face direction

How close should Bob sit to 😱?

The current lock drifted toward a generic round emoji-mascot. The fix isn't more decoration — it's pushing harder toward the real screaming face: its taller, jaw-tapered head and its bigger eyes. Three options, same identity, colors and outfit — only the head silhouette and eye scale change.

The source. Apple's “face screaming in fear” — a gently tall, jaw-tapered ovoid (a Munch-“Scream” homage), with the eyes carrying much of the face. That shape is the identity.

A · current

Round sphere

Where we landed. Cute, but a perfect ball reads as a generic emoji-toy (the “Emoji-Movie Gene” silhouette) and pulls away from 😱.

B · recommended

Gentle ovoid

The emoji's tall-tapered head + slightly bigger eyes. Keeps the chibi appeal and the smirk, but now unmistakably the screaming face. Stronger silhouette.

C · boldest

Egg + big eyes

Maximum emoji fidelity — the large eye-fields and egg head are pure 😱. Most ownable, but the egg gets a touch literal / less huggable.

my recommendation

Land between B and C, closer to B — B's proportions with maybe ~20% of C's bigger-eye boldness. That fixes the two real problems (generic silhouette, undersized eyes) while keeping Bob huggable. Next lever after the face is settled: the body (still a featureless brown lump) and owning the hands-on-cheeks as his signature gesture.